RC Hobby Estore: Expands Internationally

CASE STUDY
be seen.
RC Hobby Estore: Expands Internationally;
Increases Listings from 20 to 4000 in 10 Days
COMPANY OVERVIEW
RC Hobby Estore specialises in selling remote-control vehicles and their
accessories both in its primary Australia/New Zealand market as well as to
hobbyists around the world. Operating since 2004, the business comprises
of three full-time employees (including its two co-owners), supported
by part-time staff and contractors located in countries ranging from the
Philippines, India, US, Germany and Bangladesh. RC Hobby Estore uses
the ChannelAdvisor platform to sustain its multichannel operations across its
proprietary webstore, eBay, and most recently Trade Me in New Zealand, as
well as utilising ChannelAdvisor’s professional services to manage their Paid
Search activity.
When they purchased the business, RC Hobby Estore’s current owners
found the ChannelAdvisor platform already in place across its full range
of operations. The existing ChannelAdvisor solution was focused primarily
around consolidated inventory management, enabling RC Hobby Estore
to monitor and track stock levels across multiple sales channels including
eBay and six comparison shopping websites.
“The ChannelAdvisor platform is the engine room of our operation,” said
Peter Dickinson, co-owner of RC Hobby Estore. “The ability to pool and
track our data across a range of markets has been instrumental in how we
streamline our inventory, and gives us an integrated, automated base that
can sustain growth while maintaining rigorous control over our processes.”
“The previous owner wasn’t exaggerating in his support of the
ChannelAdvisor platform: we’ve found it extremely powerful and easy to get
the hang of, even after throwing ourselves in the deep end of commercialscale online shopping.”
ChannelAdvisor’s services included technical support that mapped directly
to the fast-moving, always-on nature of e-commerce – in September 2013,
ChannelAdvisor technicians were quick to deliver rapid after-hours support
to Dickinson in remedying a critical promotion setup issue the business was
experiencing as part of the Click Frenzy Father’s Day event.
Dickinson recognised a need to make RC Hobby Estore more agile and
responsive if it were to successfully expand into new geographic markets.
Doing so would not only require new e-commerce capabilities, but a means
by which to manage a small but global workforce without compromising RC
Hobby Estore’s attention to customer service.
Location:
Brookvale, NSW, Australia
URL:
www.rchobbyestore.com.au
Industry:
Toys and Accessories
“ Our experience with
ChannelAdvisor has been
one of 24/7 reliability
and scalability, globallyaccessible supply chain
integration – there’s
nothing they haven’t been
able to do for us.
“
SITUATION
- Peter Dickinson
Co-Owner
RC Hobby Estore
SOLUTION
For its expansion into New Zealand, RC Hobby Estore launched on Trade
Me through ChannelAdvisor, adding the marketplace to its channel mix of
eBay, comparison shopping engines and the RC Hobby Estore webstore
(www.rchobbyestore.com.au). Due to the ease of integration through
ChannelAdvisor, RC Hobby Estore began a pilot project selling a range of
20 products on Trade Me to New Zealand hobbyists.
“Not only were we able to seamlessly incorporate Trade Me into our
inventory management and supply chain processes, but we also gained
access to a wealth of strategic data that ended up directing our go-tomarket strategy,” said Dickinson. “When we looked at the sales data and
inquiries coming out of the Trade Me integration, we found a significant level
of interest in our spare parts compared to the vehicles themselves: that sort
of market opportunity would’ve been invisible were it not for the consolidated
viewpoints of the ChannelAdvisor platform.”
Being able to rapidly respond to these sorts of opportunities, as well
as manage day-to-day customer service in a 24/7 environment, were
key considerations for RC Hobby Estore’s ongoing viability and growth.
Dickinson centralised the business’ customer service, design, and technical
operations on ChannelAdvisor’s software-as-a-service platform, including
RC Hobby Estore’s Asia-Pacific based call centre and contract designer.
“Distributing our workforce globally allows us to reduce costs and stay
lean whilst delivering the service levels our customers expect,” said
Dickinson. “However, this makes a common platform for data and resource
management all the more important. With ChannelAdvisor, we don’t end up
with inconsistent versions of data or miscommunication over customer or
technical tickets – everyone’s on the same page no matter where they are in
the world.”
RESULTS
Using the ChannelAdvisor platform, RC Hobby Estore was able to transition
from its Trade Me pilot to a full-scale launch within 10 days – a move that
saw 20 initial product listings grow to more than 4000 within that time. The
data provided by the Trade Me integration enabled RC Hobby Estore to
prioritise its listings to target demand identified amongst its new customers
and prospects. The expansion required no additional manpower to RC
Hobby Estore’s existing small group of flexible working personnel.
“As an online merchant in a particularly niche area, we strive to operate as
a trusted global retailer and punch well above our weight when it comes to
service and sales,” said Dickinson. “Our experience with ChannelAdvisor
has been one of 24/7 reliability and scalability, globally-accessible supply
chain integration – there’s nothing they haven’t been able to do for us.”
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